Sharad Pawar says he has no ambition to become Prime Minister

He also denied that NCP is planning to contest 145 assembly seats in 2014 or that there were serious differences between NCP and Congress.

MUMBAI: Union agriculture minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar stunned political observers on Monday by saying that he had no prime ministerial ambitions and was, in fact, preparing to retire from electoral politics before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

He also denied that NCP is planning to contest 145 assembly seats in 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections or that there were serious differences between his party and the Congress on election strategy. "I do not have any ambitions of becoming the PM, I want to retire from electoral politics before the next parliamentary elections.

I would stay in public life but will not contest elections. My party wants to stay in alliance with the Congress at Centre and in Maharashtra ," Pawar said in Mumbai on Sunday after attending a state-level women's conference organised by NCP's women's wing.

Asked about the possibility of the third front emerging and whether the anti-incumbency factor would work against UPA in 2014, he said, "I don't know what the result of the elections will be, but my party has decided to be with the UPA in Delhi and Mumbai. I don't know what the future for any third or fourth front is going to be.

All I can say is that the country needs a stable government and UPA can provide that." The NCP chief reiterated that he would not be contesting Parliament elections in 2014 and hinted at becoming a member of the Rajya Sabha. In 2009, Pawar had announced that he would not contest the parliament elections and handed over his constituency to his daughter Supriya Sule.

However, Pawar changed his mind and filed his election nomination from Madha constituency in Solapur district at the last moment before elections. On Sunday, Pawar had a meeting with Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, primarily to discuss the drought relief measures in the state. Six districts in Maharashtra are facing acute water shortage and water is being supplied through tankers to over 1,600 villages in these districts.